On another article that I read yesterday Ahmadinejad says that the nuke charges are absurd. I'm copy pasting this.

The International Atomic Energy Agency’s report on Tuesday said Iran is working on nuclear weapons, but Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad refuses to hear it. He pledged Iran “won’t retreat one iota from the path it is going.” He then attacked the IAEA report as absurd, asking “Why are you ruining the prestige of the agency for absurd U.S. claims?” He insisted that Iran was not building nuclear weapons. "The Iranian nation is wise,” he said. “It won't build two bombs against 20,000 bombs you have.”

I find Ahmadinejad's thought that any UN organization cow tows to the United States pretty laughable. The UN in general has been a source of heartburn for the US. Also, I think Iran needs only to give the appearance of building a nuclear weapon. It provides red meat for the domestic audience and a distraction from the woeful economic straits they are in, and it gives Iran a measure of international prestige, however infamous it may be. Question becomes however, is it worth risking they are serious or not? After all, they've called for the obliteration of another nation, Israel.

It's a tough issue but I think subterfuge and clandestine means are the best ways to stymie their efforts. They (the West) just needs to ramp those efforts up and keep the pressure on.